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Without the help of the human race, and the listening ears of our politicians, we are going to leave this extreme crisis to the next generation. Everyone can see the effects of global warming. Hurricane Strain is the most recent event to hit our nation, and Japan just recently set an all-time record for typhoons. The science textbooks had to be rewritten in 2004 because they used to say, “It’s impossible to have hurricanes in the South Atlantic. ” But Thayer, for the first time, a hurricane hit Brazil (Gore 84). The most dramatic effect of global warming is the accelerating melting in the Arctic.
When the ice melts it raises the sea level, and when it’s finished melting, coastal property will eventually be 40 feet under water- leaving over 100 million people homeless. If we continue to see these rates rise and do nothing about it, there will be serious health problems, more extreme weather conditions, billion dollar industries will go bankrupt (skiing and wineries), and it will cause ecological catastrophes. The history of the problem stems back to the sass’s when global warming was first discovered and tested. It was discovered that the CO levels were owe increasing more rapidly than every before.
Studies show now that the top 10 hottest years on earth have been in the last 14 years, with the hottest being 2005. Also, in the past 650,000 years, the CO concentration never went above 300 parts per year. As of now, it’s almost reached 400. Scientists predict that 50 years from now, that number will be above 600 (Gore 64). If we burn less fossil fuels it will reduce the CO in the atmosphere. The more CO we have, the thicker the ozone layer is and the less heat we let out of our atmosphere. When we reach the levels we were at for the 650,000 years fore 1 960, Global Warming will discontinue.
There is proof and evidence gathered in the data showing our rapid incline of heat and CO in the atmosphere. Although there is a complicated explanation of the relationship between temperature and CO, the less CO, the lower the temperature. There are many causes of the increased CO and greenhouse gas emissions, but one Of the most devastating is the heavy carbon dioxide being released from the power plants. Coal from burning the fossil fuels emit tons more CO than natural gas and oil. Carbon dioxide emitted from cars is also a huge robber- about 20% of the U.
S. ‘s CO emission comes from our cars. There are also dangerous amounts of CO coming from trucks, airplanes, and buildings. The lack of trees and deforestation also plays a big role and is responsible for 25% of all CO emitted in the atmosphere. The good thing is that global warming isn’t going completely unnoticed. At least 16 cases, drawing on a variety of legal cases, are pending in federal or state court. These cases have to do with legal wars on oil, electric power, auto, and other companies whose emissions are linked to global warming.
The best and suggest solution would definitely be for our countries to work together to make laws against letting such high amounts of CO enter the atmosphere. There should be very harsh punishments for these companies that emit so much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and laws to make them change them. Some say that since Hurricane Strain’s fury was powered by unusually warm Gulf water, and since such warmth could result from global warming, companies that have pumped the atmosphere full of greenhouse gases should be liable for damages (Carrey and Woollier 1).
Another solution, and sibyl the first step for the world to work together to reduce global warming, is to put energy efficient, renewable energy, and vehicle technology solutions in place at a federal level. California has been the only state to step up to the plate. In August 2006, the California state legislature passed the landmark Global Warming Solutions Act which mandates that the state’s greenhouse gas emissions be rolled back to 1990 levels by 2020 (The Vote Heard around the World 1). This first-in-the-nation law puts a cap on gas emissions from power plants, refineries, and manufacturing plants.
Since the United States currently produces 70 percent of its electricity from fossil fuels and only two percent from renewable resources, it is certain that by converting into more efficient and renewable energy it would significantly reduce our emissions Of heat-trapping gases. Solutions for global warming include big changes, but they also include little things people can do everyday. My proposal is to simply get the word out to everyone. Teaching children in school and people at home how to implement steps on helping solve global warming is very important in today’s world.
One thing everyone can do is simply reduce emissions from your home energy use by using energy-efficient lighting and appliances, insulating your house, conserving hot water, and turning off lights and computers when you’re finished with them. It’s also important to reduce the number of miles you drive, ride a bike or walk, drive smarter (take the fastest route), think of alternative fuels, or even purchase a hybrid car. Don’t litter and always recycle, buy things that last and don’t waste paper.
As a country, we need to take all these individual steps award reducing our dependence on oil and other fossil fuels. There needs to be more information on how to conserve energy, and why it’s so important. Two examples of other “epidemics” that shows proof that getting the word out will result in positive changes are tobacco and obesity. After cigarette makers started getting sued because of smoking related health-care costs, tobacco companies agreed to fork over more that $300 billion and make big changes in the marketing of cigarettes.
The mere threat of obesity lawsuits has sent soft drink and junk food purveyors scrambling to change their rodents and improve their public image (Carrey and Woollier 2). The point is that the ultimate goal of environmentalists isn’t necessarily to win cases and have every factory 100% devoted to reducing CO, it’s to put pressure on business and politicians to impose mandatory’ curbs on greenhouse gas emissions. There are many objections to global warming. Some scientists still refer to the whole thing as a “hoax”.
Seen. James Infer from Oklahoma has been an outspoken skeptic of global warming and has criticized plans to mandate greenhouse gas reductions, saying they would damage the nation’s economy (At Deadline 1). People (especially in America), are easily persuaded by information like this, but the more people who see the rapid uprisings on our planet are bound to make their own judgments. The more people who are informed, the more support and pressure will be put on our representatives to make the bigger changes needed.
There are also some people who believe that this climate change is natural, or global warming is a good thing because it is getting rid of winters- but the negative effect of the climate change vastly outweighs the local benefits, and scientists have found hat although climate is known to change in the past, the CO levels have never reached a peak this high for as long as 650,000 years. Other objections to my proposal (especially when the pressure reaches the federal level) will most certainly come from companies like GM and other businesses that produce fossil fuel burning items.
If America does switch our ways, however, there Will be many job opportunities for people in the automobile industry. It might also be in those companies best interest to invest in producing energy efficient products. Loyal customers would then come to them. As far as cost- effectiveness, there are perspectives on a national and a local level. Global warming may cost the world several billion dollars a year unless urgent efforts are made to curb emissions of greenhouse gases.
A report by the United Nations Environment Program’s (UNEVEN) financial services initiative indicates that losses due to more frequent tropical cyclones, rising sea levels and damage to fishing stocks, agriculture and water supplies could cost the world as much as $304. 2 billion a year (The Climbing Cost of Climate Change 1). There are many other reports and statistics with information on the extra billions of dollars that will have to be spent to pick up the pieces left from global warming.
On a more local level- producing more hybrid vehicles will save consumers billions of dollars in gas every year. Using energy efficient ways in our home will also lessen the bills. Us as a country and as human beings have a moral responsibility to our fellow men and women and our future relatives to start doing something about this problem now. It is more immoral to continue to destroy our world than it is try and conserve sources. It is a worldwide problem that is unethical to the people living in it.
If that’s not enough, the money spent will be money saved in the long run. If we let global warming run its course, we won’t have to worry about the economy anymore, because there won’t be one. The first step of implementation is getting the word out. Write to congressman (maybe even run), tell everyone you know, get as much information you can and share it with you friends and family. Plant trees and conserve energy. Write out a petition for the senate and have as many people sign it as possible. Take action into your own hands and pursued others to do so.
Encourage the local schools, libraries, or the places you work to reduce CO emissions. There isn’t a fast fix for global warming, the people of the state must pressure their representatives to support measures that have a positive impact on climate crisis. This is why the first step to finding a solution to global warming is just putting out as much information as possible into your family and community. The faster people realize the dangerous effects, the faster there will be something done about it.
As you can see there needs to be many steps taken to completely reduce global warming to a minimum, but this is a problem that even the littlest things make a difference. One household the conserves energy can be just as helpful as one state that makes a law because it spreads the word. Not enough people are informed of the dangers of this epidemic. The truth is- global warming is a wide-ranging and urgent problem. People in the U. S. And around the world are already suffering from its effects. We must all start reducing global warming by working as a team before we realize it’s too late.